1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a holder and, more particularly, to a holder which may be used to secure the liner of a water bed or a plastic, cloth or paper decoration to a surface. The holder can be quickly and easily attached to and removed from any flat surface which contains an appropriate groove.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Holders of a similar type to that disclosed herein are described in my earlier U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,973,282 and 4,089,075. As pointed out these holders are easy to use and inexpensive to fabricate.
The prior holders comprise three main integral portions: an upper or head portion, a center portion, and a lower or leg portion.
The head portion is designed with a slightly beveled top to allow the insertion of the fingertips of an assembler. Inserting the fingers allows the moving or flexing of the head portion away from the surface and the insertion of the ends of a water bed liner or other sheet material into a storage space. This storage space is formed by the center portion which is slightly bowed to form the space between itself and the surface.
The leg portion is used to position and retain the holder in a preselected location generally by being fastened with bolts or screws to a surface. Other methods of attaching the holder include gluing, tacking, and force wedging with another member.
In order to be self-biasing or have spring-like action, the holder is designed to have the head portion offset by approximately one-eighth inch. When the holder is unattached with nothing to bias the head portion it will be about one-eighth inch offset from the leg portion. However, when the leg portion is aligned vertically with the surface, the surface biases the head portion. Thus, when the holder is connected to the surface the head portion will be forced back about one-eighth of an inch. This places an overstress in the center portion of the holder which induces a biasing force in the holder against the surface. This biasing force will insure an adequate restraint on the sheet material once it is tucked over the head portion and into the space and will also provide the spring-back feature. Hence, once tucking is completed, the assembler need only remove his fingers and the holder will spring back against the surface.
It has been found that a holder of rigid polyvinylchloride material having a thickness of approximately 0.050 inches provides sufficient resiliency and works exceedingly well.
Although this holder works extremely well and is effective in holding the water bed liner or other sheet material securely in place it may prove somewhat inconvenient to fasten to a surface. Not only do the screws and bolts require a lot of time to install, but they also constitute an additional cost in both material and assembly time. In addition, fastening the holder in this manner may limit the types of surfaces to which the holder can be attached. Furthermore, the number of fasteners and their spacing are factors affecting the tension exerted by the holder. An even tension is very difficult to achieve.
The other methods of attaching the holder are more permanent in nature. For example, the counter molding used in connection with forced wedging has a barbed section. The barbs bite both the holder and the surface. The holder is thereby firmly secured but removal damages the holder and the surface and reattachment is difficult if not impossible.